Women born in the 1950s lose state pension age case against the government
04 October 2019
The High Court has ruled in favour of the government in relation to the case against the Backto60 group regarding the increase of state pension age for women born in the 1950s.
In a verdict that seemingly shocked the courtroom, the changes to state pension age for women were not deemed discriminatory. In fact, the legislation was recognised as introducing fairness and consistency to the treatment of men and women in relation to the state pension.
Campaigners accept and embrace the matter of equality of the sexes where state pension age is concerned but argued that the government proceeded in an inequitable manner when introducing new state pension age legislation. They asserted that women born in the 1950s were given insufficient time to prepare for the substantial changes and that this left many concerned in positions of financial hardship. The High Court disagreed with these claims and declined to award compensation to any of those affected.
Historically, prior to 2010, women qualified for their state pension at the age of 60 but this has been gradually increasing. The retirement age was lifted from 60 to 65 to emulate the treatment of men in relation to the state pension. This is set to increase to 66 in 2020 and then again, to 67 by 2028.
The BBC reported that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) welcomed the decision as the changes were “entirely lawful and did not discriminate on any grounds” but obviously the ruling has not been received favourably by all.
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